KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 — Crude palm oil (CPO) futures prices on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives reversed a recent sell down to close firmer today and lifted by positive export data from cargo surveyors, Phillip Futures Sdn Bhd Derivative Product Specialist David Ng said.

Intertek Testing Services reported that CPO exports rose by 14.2 per cent, while Societe Generale de Surveillance said the offtake increased by 11.4 per cent from July 1-15, he added.

Speaking to Bernama, he said the strong overnight performance of the Chicago soybean market, coupled with improving demand from major countries, reflects bright prospects ahead.

He expects the support level to be at RM2,280 and immediate resistance at RM2,350.

The local market was closed yesterday for the Nuzul Quran public holiday.          

At the close, August 2014 rose RM33 to RM2,378 per tonne, September 2014 increased RM28 to RM2,326 per tonne, October 2014 advanced RM23 to RM2,307 per tonne, while November 2014 improved RM20 to RM2,307 per tonne.  Volume fell to 49,375 lots from 53,721 lots on Monday, while open interest increased slightly to 265,949 contracts from 265,345 contracts.

On the physical market, August South stood at RM2,400 per tonne. — Bernama